Iceland Eruption Means No New Comics for UK
The ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano which has severely disrupted all air traffic from the United States and Canada to most of Western Europe has also stopped the flow of comics from the US to Britain, according to a retailer memo from the comics distributor Diamond UK. There will be no new comics this week and it is "extremely unlikely" that they will receive any products soon, because even when air conditions improve, passenger flights will be given priority.
The complications of the eruption also mean that the premiere of the upcoming comic book movie Iron Man 2 will move from London to Los Angeles. More details are available at comics blogs Dave's Comics UK and Bleeding Cool.
C2E2 2010: Marvel News
The Eisner-winning team Matt Fraction (Invincible Iron Man) and Gabriel Ba(Umbrella Academy)'s creator-owned futuristic espionage comic Casanova has been picked up by Marvel's Icon line and will be continued by the original creators as well as colored, hand-lettered and remastered. Equally award-winning writer Ed Brubaker will be writing a four issue mini-series about the (no longer dead) original Captain America in Steve Rogers: Super Soldier coming this July. Taking advantage of the pre-movie buzz, Marvel will publish a new ongoing all-ages Thor backstory comic, Thor: The Mighty Avengers, reimagining Thor's early superheroic career. The book's creative team will be writer Roger Langridge (The Muppet Show comic) and artist Chris Samnee (Siege: Embedded). Wolverine: Weapon X will end and be replaced by Wolverine by the team of Jason Aaron and Renato Guedes about what happens when Wolverine's soul goes to Hell. Dark Wolverine will become Daken: Dark Wolverine but retain the current creative team. Marjorie Liu (Dark Wolverine) will also be writing an unnamed X-23 comic slated for this September.
Dark Horse Inks Deal With Hammer Films
Dark Horse Comics has announced a new deal with Hammer Films to produce comics adaptations of their horror films. The first project slated is a horror comic based on Let Me In, Hammer's English language adaptation of acclaimed Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In. The comic Let Me In will be written by Mark Andreyko and illustrated by Patric Reynolds while the movie will star Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass's Hit Girl) and is directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and is due out this October. More information is available at comics news site ICv2 and pop culture blog Io9.
Vampire Hunter D Comes to PSP
PSP Digital Comics, Sony's new digital comics service for the Playstation Portable, is now offering its first digital manga - Vampire Hunter D. The manga by Saiko Takaki is based upon the novels of Hideyuki Kikuchi. Vampire Hunter D was first popularized in the United States by the anime adaptation of the same title. Vampire Hunter D: Volume 1 Chapter 1 will cost $1.99 from PSP Digital comics.
Coming Soon: Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day, the promotional event in which comic book stores across North America give away free special edition comics, is coming this year on May 1. Coordinated by Diamond Comics Distribition, this year's Free Comic Book Day comics include offerings from Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, IDW, Disney, Drawn & Quarterly, Archaia, Bongo, Del Rey and many more with a strong emphasis on all-ages and child friendly titles. This will be the ninth annual Free Comic Book Day. To find a participating location near you, check the store locator on the Free Comic Book Day site.
This Week @ Good Comics For Kids
This week School Library Journal's blog Good Comics for Kids had reviews of Trial of the Amazons and the Hollow Fields omnibus, the January - March All Ages Picks index, and the 4/14 listing of comics suitable for all ages.
This Week @ The Beat
This week at PWCW editor Heidi MacDonald's blog The Beat, she visited Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo and covered all three days as well as several notable books and Wizard head Gareb Shamus' opinion on the convention. The Beat also covered the newly revealed long lost hoard of unused Jack Kirby pitches, Heidi's closing thoughts on MoCCA Fest 2010, Diamond's offer to move New Comic Book Day to Tuesdays from Wednesdays, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund's new website, fashion impresario Tim Gunn on superhero costumes, the acquisition of the Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention by Reed Business Industries - the people behind New York Comic Con and C2E2, the obituary of controversial anime pioneer Carl Macek, a magazine cover starring Betty White wielding a flaming chainsaw and hosted a guest column by Yen Press's Rich Johnson on legendary comics creator Neil Gaiman - part one of a multi-part essay.
